


Venomous Rose

by april_zephyr (April_Zephyr)



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Serial Killers, Detective Sephiroth, Detectives, F/M, Jealousy, M/M, Roses, Rough Sex, Serial Killer Aerith, Unsafe Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2020-06-02 10:25:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19439551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/April_Zephyr/pseuds/april_zephyr
Summary: What kind of killer left roses behind? It piqued his interest.





	1. Red Roses and Cadavers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ZoudiazZoe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoudiazZoe/gifts).



* * *

It was a quiet start to the day which was never a good sign. Sephiroth sighed as he ordered a doppio at the little Italian cafe next to his workplace, he had some time to kill and he did not trust the coffee that was brewed in the office  
“Good morning, can I have a latte?” A brunette asked politely. Sephiroth’s job was to pay attention to people, so that was the excuse he was going to use for paying attention to the young woman. She was petite, curly-haired, button-nosed with a very light dusting of freckles on the bridge. The brunette glanced at him and raised her eyebrow at him, “Hello, can I help you? Do I have something in my teeth?”

“Hi. No, sorry your tag’s sticking out.” Sephiroth said, hoping that was a valid reason for him staring at her too long. The brunette frowned before tucking the tag back into her jacket. She let out a little embarrassed laugh, “Sorry for staring at you.”

“Thank you for telling me about the tag. I would have probably stayed like that for the entire day.” The girl smiled, holding a hand out, “I’m Aerith.”

“Sephiroth.” He introduced himself, giving her hand a quick, but firm handshake. She stared at him expectantly, “I should probably get going. Nice to meet you.”

“Wait,” Aerith said softly, placing her hand over his bicep. She then seemingly pulled a daffodil from out nowhere, “Take this with you. To brighten up your day.”

“Thank you,” Sephiroth said slowly, he wasn’t entirely sure how to react to receiving a flower. It wasn’t something that happened frequently. Aerith smiled at him, before taking her drink and taking a seat at one of the tables. Sephiroth watched her for a little longer before deciding to leave.

**\----**

To say that he received a few curious glances would be an understatement. Everyone in the office stared at him as soon as he entered the room. He was a little later than expected, but no one cared about that. Sephiroth was glad that he was one of the head detectives, he could get away with more than the regular detectives. Like being late.  
“Who’s the flower for?” Zack asked, leaning against Sephiroth’s desk. The dark haired man smiled once he realised he wasn’t going to get an answer to his question. Instead of pressuring Sephiroth into talking, the other man placed a folder in front of him, “We have a new case. You were requested specifically for this.”

Sephiroth opened the folder and was met by the sight of a cadaver. It was a sight that he saw frequent enough that he didn’t react as badly as most people would. But this one didn’t look as gory as the ones that he was used to. So it was a bit of a surprise. It looked like a natural death. Nothing stood out.  
“Are you definite that he was murdered? I don’t see anything suspicious.” Sephiroth pointed out, reading the doctor’s notes on the corpse, “It says here that he had a heart attack.”

“Well… It originally was suspected as a normal death with no foul play.” Zack started, turning the pages, “That was until we found a signature.”

A deep red rose lay flat on the bedside table. Sephiroth looked at his friend incredulously. What kind of killer left roses behind? It piqued his interest. That’s probably why he was specifically requested to look at this.  
“You think that this killer is leaving roses? That’s their signature?” Sephiroth frowned, if roses were the killer’s signature it would pretty easy to find them. They would just have to trace flower shops, or anywhere that sold any kind of plants.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Zack sighed, passing Sephiroth a few other files. Way too many files to be considered anything other than a coincidence. He glanced at each picture and sure enough, there was a rose near every dead body, “We’ve already checked all the flower shops.”

“We’re going to have to do this the hard way and get cops to scope areas where these specific roses grow,” Sephiroth stated firmly, he stared at the daffodil and wondered if that pretty girl could be the culprit. It was far fetched. But being in this field for as long as he was, he knew that anyone could be a killer. Everyone was a suspect, “Are you coming to the morgue?”

“I can think of better places to go for lunch.” Zack snorted. Sephiroth stared at him flatly, out of all people he was partnered up with, it had to be this guy. Zack grinned at him, “Sure I’m coming. I love a good dead body.”

“We all know that you’re interested in the blond.” Sephiroth voiced, “Such a shame he’s more interested in dead bodies.”

“Why do you have to be so mean?” Zack pouted, “He smiled at me the other day.”

“He smiles at everyone.” Sephiroth grinned, “It’s called being polite.”

**\----**

The morgue was in the basement of the building. It made work a lot easier, but Sephiroth was sure that the morgue only had one body related to this case. Since all the other bodies weren’t considered suspicious, the cadavers were probably buried. And Sephiroth didn’t have the time to get a warrant to exhume the bodies. It caused a lot more heartache than what was necessary.  
The walk to the morgue was always uncomfortable, not because there were dead bodies, but more so that the temperature had a pretty drastic drop. Sephiroth knocked on the door twice to let Cloud know that he was there before entering. The last time that Sephiroth entered without knocking he almost had his throat slit by a scalpel.  
“Sephiroth.” Cloud greeted, he was currently looking over a file, “I’m guessing you’re here because of the new body?”

“Hi, Cloud.” Zack beamed, Sephiroth’s lip twitched when he realised that the blond wasn’t going to respond to his partner. It always brought him great joy when he found something that he could tease the raven-haired man about.

“Yes, I’m here for the new body.” Sephiroth answered, “So what have you found? What did the other pathologists fail to notice?”

“They missed something important.” Cloud started, he moved the cadaver’s toes and Sephiroth wondered what the blond was going to show him. Cloud indicated that he should come over before he started talking again, “Do you see that little incision? It seems that this is how the killer perpetrated the attack.”

“Through the foot? Some kind of poison?” Sephiroth asked curiously, there didn’t seem to be any discolouring on the foot so it probably wasn’t poison, “The only thing that could have possibly been done was an injection of air directly into a vein. That would possibly cause a heart attack.”

“You hit the nail on the head.” Cloud grinned, Zack’s mouth dropped open and shut. The brunet was mimicking a fish and it was amusing. Maybe Sephiroth would tell his partner that Cloud was deliberately ignoring him as a way to tease him, “So remind me why you don’t work in pathology again?”

“Because I’d rather try to figure out who the killer is and not how a person died.” Sephiroth laughed, “But if I ever do get bored with being a detective I’m sure I can give you a hand.”

“Let me know if you do.” Cloud said seriously, “I could write a really good letter of recommendation.”

“Thank you.” Sephiroth smiled, “So let me know if you find anything else.”

“I will. But it would probably be better if I was given more than one body to look at.” Cloud sighed, “The other pathologists probably missed something with the other bodies.”

“Don’t worry. I’m almost definite that you will have another body to look at.” Sephiroth snorted, “And not everyone pays attention to detail.”

“That’s true.” Cloud frowned, before turning to Zack. The blond feigned surprise and Sephiroth had to hide his smile, “Zack, I didn’t notice you there. When did you get in?”

“Just now…” Zack said through clenched teeth, “Well. Sephiroth and I should probably get back to business.”

“Of course.” Cloud smiled, “I’ll see you around. I’m going to check and see if there’s anything else I can report.”

“You have my number if you need me.” Sephiroth stated, “I’ll see you later.”

**\----**

Aerith hummed softly.

She finally met the detective that was going to catch her. 

There was something about him that made her fingers itch. She wanted to spill blood. The only problem was that she was contracted to make sure that the hits appeared like ordinary deaths. The organization did not want her to draw too much attention to them. 

Aerith fiddled with her dress as she daydreamed of ways to get his attention. If only she could do add an artistic flair to her kills. Someone would eventually catch onto the roses, but leaving roses got a little boring.

The next kill would have a little more flair. But she was going to ensure it looked natural.


	2. Morbid Endearment

* * *

The corpse was disturbingly beautiful. The long limbs were intertwined with vines while a bouquet of flowers bloomed out of the chest. This was a completely different modus operandi to the previous kills. It was almost as if they were teasing him, Sephiroth could feel the playful nature of this kill.  
“Have you found anything?” Sephiroth asked. The officers at the crime scene didn’t seem to be gathering enough evidence and it was really pissing him off. The sight of one of the men placing something in a bag with his bare hands was the final straw, “What the hell are you doing? You’re tampering with the evidence. That’s useless to us now.”

“I think we should end this here guys,” Zack stated firmly, waving the officers off. Zack let out a loud sigh, before running his hands through his hair. It was a pain when you had incompetent support. Sephiroth was going to check with upper management to see if he would be able to get a profiler that had some knowledge on Botanics. The detective doubted that there were many in the field, “Can you believe this? This is the first body that looks like an actual murder and we have some idiots on the team tampering with the evidence.”

“That’s what happens when we hire people that are new to the field.” Sephiroth responded, placing a hand on Zack’s shoulder, “Promise me that you won’t think that I’m crazy.”

“I always think you’re crazy.” Zack snorted, “But what’s up?”

“This killer… They’re flirting with me.” Sephiroth frowned. Zack looked at him incredulously and Sephiroth understood why his partner was looking at him like he said something crazy, “Look. I know what I’m saying sounds crazy. But you can’t ignore the fact that this person went from kills that would have been practically untraceable without their signature. This kill is flamboyant… They know that we’re onto them.”

“Wait. You think that this is the same killer?” Zack frowned, staring at the body, “Wait. Why do you think they’re flirting with you? They could be flirting with me.”

“Instead of dilly-dallying why don’t you get some work done?” A feminine voice cut in, there was only one person that wasn’t on the team that had the guts to interrupt them. Tifa Lockhart. Sephiroth turned to face her and raised an eyebrow at her statement, “Because I don’t understand how a dead body could link to flirting in any way.”

“Well, that’s why this is my job and not yours.” Sephiroth said flatly, “Now what is so pressing that you had to interrupt us in the middle of an investigation?”

“There’s going to be a transfer.” Tifa answered, crossing her arms under her chest, “I thought that you should know. Since you’re going to be working with them closely.”

\----

Aerith knew she was in trouble, the tell-tale signs of someone being in her house was an obvious sign of it. Cid had been here, there was a good chance that he was still here. She needed to be cautious. And sure enough, he was there. He was sat on her chair.  
“Missy, you are in trouble.” Cid sighed, “You were given clear instructions to make sure that the deaths looked natural. This death was not natural at all. There’s a fucking flower stuck in his chest. You put him out there like Jesus fucking Christ. What are you trying to do?”

“I got bored.” Aerith responded slowly, she knew he was going to be annoyed with her, “You should have expected this. You know that I like things to be a little exciting.”

“I was expecting it sooner.” Cid admitted, “But that doesn’t change the fact that the client is pissed off. Your pay has been docked by fifty percent. Don’t fuck up the next job.”

“What is the next job?” Aerith queried, he surprisingly didn’t react the way that she thought he was. Maybe he was getting a little soft on her, “If it’s another boring one. I’m not doing it.”

“You don’t have a choice,” Cid stated firmly, throwing the envelope at her. Aerith couldn’t help but glare at him a little for that. She was a freelance contracted killer. It was not mandatory for her to pick up jobs she didn’t want to. The brunette was sure that there would be plenty of other killers that wanted to kill someone. She exhaled a little too loudly as she opened the envelope. Aerith stared at the piece of paper incredulously, “Yes. Congratulations it looks like you’re going to finally put your degree to use.”

“No.” Aerith said firmly, throwing the envelope back to him, “I’m not doing this. I’m a contracted killer, not a criminal psychologist. I am not doing this.”

“I don’t think you understand the seriousness of this. You wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place if you didn’t fuck up.” Cid grounded out, “You have to do this, or you will be blacklisted and there will be a hit put out on you.”

“So what? You want me to investigate my own murders?” Aerith snorted in disbelief, “This is beyond stupid, even for you. How do you even expect me to get a job there? I haven’t worked in a criminal background for years.”

“You already have a job. You’re starting tomorrow.” Cid grinned, “Our organisation is above the law. Anything is possible if you don’t screw up. So make sure you do this right this time. I had a lot of grovelling to do to make sure that a hit was not put on you. And you are expected to continue with the murders, even in your flowery stupid way, but you have to make sure you steer them away from us. We don’t need them to even suspect that there is an organisation like this. Play with them a little if you have to.”

“So what does that mean for me?” Aerith asked, “Have I been fired?”

“No. You’ve been benched.” Cid answered, “It’s not permanent, you will still be expected to take on assignments. But we need someone on the inside and you’re the least scary-looking one and you actually have the qualifications for this job.”

“Fine. I’ll do it.” Aerith agreed flatly. There was a possibility that she would be able to have fun with it. Cid smiled at her, pulling her into a one-sided hug, “But just know that I’m not happy with this.”

“I know. But it will have to do for now won’t it petal.” Cid sighed, letting her go, “I need to head back, you be careful.”

“I will.”

\----

Sephiroth was dreading meeting the new person. Vincent had told him that it was mandatory that this person joined the team because they needed someone that was a skilled criminal psychologist with knowledge on botany. It was such a strange combination of subjects, but he wasn’t going to question it.  
He definitely was not expecting the sight of a familiar brunette. Her name was on the tip of his tongue, but he would have never guessed that such a sweet-looking person would be interested in such a dark subject.  
“This is Aerith, she’s a new member of your team.” Vincent started, “Be sure to show her the ropes. Thanks.”

“Jeez, you would think he would be better at introducing people.” Zack snorted, smiling brightly at Aerith. It was not a surprise that Zack was polite. But it felt a little different to his usual politeness. The raven-haired man was obviously attracted to her and for some bizarre reason that bothered Sephiroth. Zack held out his hand before he continued talking, ”I’m Zack Fair. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Aerith smiled, shaking his hand. When her eyes caught Sephiroth’s own, he wasn’t sure how to read her. Aerith didn’t seem surprised that she was meeting him here, “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Likewise.” Sephiroth mimicked, earning a little quirk of her lip. The brunette did not look like the type of person that would be interested in a subject like this. So he couldn’t help but wonder why she would have gone into this field. Maybe his previous, “So what are you doing here?”

“I decided that it was time that I put my degree to use,” Aerith answered, using her hands to indicate to herself. It was a playful motion, “So here I am.”

“Wait. The two of you know each other?” Zack frowned, looking between the two, “When did this happen?”

“It was a chance meeting.” Aerith giggled. That statement made him wonder if the meeting really was by chance. There was something about her that made him feel on edge. “So I’ve read the case file. This killer they sound pretty interesting. I don’t think I’ve worked on a case like this before.”

“Yeah, this our first time working on a case like this.” Zack sighed, crossing his arms behind his head, “We’re still not sure why he decided to change his MO. You’d think that he would want to stay low and continue with the natural-looking deaths.”

“There’s a good chance that the killer is a woman,” Sephiroth said slowly, staring directly looking at her. Aerith smiled at him and that was when Sephiroth knew that he had found the killer.

All he needed to do now was prove it.


	3. Baby, It's You.

* * *

There was no secrecy between them. Sephiroth was very much aware that Aerith was the killer, and she was aware that he knew. The brunette didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned. And that, in turn, made him wonder why she was so fearless. Zack was being extraordinarily nice to her and was making small talk, but Aerith’s eyes were glued to him.  
“Zack, can I talk to Aerith for a second?” Sephiroth asked. Zack looked at him curiously, “Alone?”

“Ah, I see where this is going.” Zack said in an accusatory tone and Sephiroth had a feeling he knew what his partner was talking about, “We’re going to talk about this later.”

“Maybe you should visit the morgue?” Sephiroth offered, he was sure that Cloud could cheer him up, even if deliberately ignored him. But maybe if Zack talked about Aerith, the blond would finally spring into action and ask Zack on a date. It was clear that there was a mutual attraction going on between the two, “Tell Cloud to expect the new body.”

“Fine.” Zack sighed, “I’ll see you around.”

They stared at each other in silence. Aerith seemed amused by the situation and that annoyed him more than he thought it would. Most people wouldn’t be so smug that they had been found out. The whole point of being a serial killer was to see how long you could get away with it.  
“So it’s you.” Sephiroth started, “So why do you do it? You don’t appear to be a psychopath or even a sociopath at that.”

“What’s me?” Aerith asked innocently, it was frightening how she could play so innocent that it was believable. But Sephiroth could feel it in his gut that she was the killer, “I’m sorry. I’m not too sure what you’re talking about.”

“You’re the killer,” Sephiroth stated firmly, folding his arms under his chest. Aerith smiled at the comment, she didn’t even seem to be trying to defend herself. The silver-haired detective was sure that if she really wanted to, she could hide it. But she wanted him to know, “Why did you want me to know? You could have hidden it for a longer period of time. But you chose to let me know.”

“Why didn’t you tell your partner? You could have told him, he would have probably thought it was inconceivable at first, but then he would have eventually believed you. There’s a good chance that you could get me arrested, but I doubt you will.” Aerith said softly, it was almost as if they were having a normal conversation, “So tell me. Why do you still work as a detective? You see the way they look at you. Tifa treats you like a subject, she wants to study you.”

“Because I’m good at what I do,” Sephiroth responded. He didn’t care about anyone else. Zack, Cloud, and Vincent didn’t look at him any different and he appreciated it. That was all that mattered. No looks would affect his work or drive, “I’m guessing you already know why they all look at me like that?”

“Yes, it’s because of your mother,” Aerith answered. Sephiroth winced at that comment because not everyone was aware of who his mother was. The only reason that the department was aware of it was that during the compulsory background check, someone decided to share the information with the entire department. Which lead a lot of people to be wary of him, “But I don’t care about that. Your mother did what she did, it has nothing to do with you.”

“Zack said the same thing when he met me.” Sephiroth admitted, “But that does not change the fact that my mother is a famous serial killer. They have the right to be wary of me, I am a part of her genetics after all.”

“And I guess it doesn’t help that your father also did not have an amazing reputation?” Aerith queried, peering into his eyes. Forest green. A darker shade of his own, “Professor Hojo. The mad scientist that did illegal experimentation and also killed. But not as famous as your mother. He didn’t manage to become a well-known killer, so it’s a good thing that no one figured that one out.”

“How do you know so much? Did you research me?” Sephiroth frowned, he was used to people knowing about his mother, but no one was aware that his father was problematic too, “Are you planning on blackmailing me with this information? Because if you are, I don’t give a damn. You can tell the whole world if you would like to.”

“No, I’m not going to blackmail you or do anything of that sort,” Aerith said firmly, it felt believable. But Sephiroth still could not trust her. She was a killer after all, “I’m not sure if you know this, but my father was Professor Gast.”

“I remember Professor Gast,” Sephiroth responded. He wasn’t aware that the man had a child. It was a shock to realise that someone as nice as Professor Gast managed to somehow bore a killer, “He was a nice man.”

“He was. He helped my mother escape.” Aerith let out a harsh laugh, “A good case of Stockholm Syndrome if I do say so, he and your father experimented on my mother. Something related to rare genetics. I don’t understand how she could fall for a man like that.”

“So you want to kill me?” Sephiroth asked. He had a feeling he already knew the answer. Aerith just continued looking at him calmly. How could someone with such a sweet face kill so ruthlessly?

“No.” Aerith said firmly, “I’m not going to kill you.”

That was the final thing she said to him before she decided to leave. Sephiroth stared after her and strangely enough, he felt a slight longing for her. This was not a good sign. He wasn’t supposed to get attached. A sweet face and an equally sweet personality did not condone what she had done. She was a killer and he was a detective. Two opposites of a spectrum. He was going to catch her one day. He was going to make sure of it.

\----

Aerith sighed as she splashed water on her face. She was playing a reckless game. Cid was not going to be happy at all. The brunette was supposed to lure Sephiroth away from them. But instead, she lured him right to her. He knew that she was the killer.  
“Are you okay?” Tifa asked her softly, placing a hand on her shoulder, “I know he’s hard to deal with.”

“I’m fine. Just freshening up.” Aerith smiled. She hated it when people touched her. But in order to fit her facade, she needed to be able to deal with it. Indifference was hard to do when you were already in a place where you were emotionally vulnerable, “Who’s hard to deal with?”

“Sephiroth.” Tifa laughed, “There are only a few people in the department that get along with him. If only he would let me get inside of that brain of his. I wonder what I would find.”

“Really? He seemed rather nice.” Aerith frowned, “Why would you want to get inside his head? We’re criminal psychologists. We’re not really supposed to get in the heads of anyone but criminals.”

“Ah. So I’m guessing you didn’t know that his mother is Lucrecia Crescent?” Tifa questioned, she seemed a little smug and that annoyed Aerith. So what if Sephiroth’s mother was a serial killer. It had nothing to do with who he was as a person.

“So? His mother was a killer and you immediately associate that with him?” Aerith sighed softly, “You won’t get anything from him. There’s no point in delving into the mind of a person that hasn’t killed anyone.”

“Fine. You’re no fun.” Tifa teased, “Do you want to join me for lunch?”

“Can I have a rain-check on that? I have a briefing O need to attend.” Aerith lied. She wasn’t really in the mood to have lunch with Tifa. They were friends, but her comments about Sephiroth annoyed Aerith, “Duty calls.”

“Of course. Just give me a call when you’re free.” Tifa smiled, “It’s great that we’re working together again.”

“It is.” Aerith agreed, smiling politely. It was going to be a lot harder to kill and also be involved with detectives. She would have to be more creative and there was only one person that she could talk to about this. She just needed to find him, “I’ll see you around.”

The walk to the morgue was a lot shorter than expected. Aerith exhaled softly before entering the room. The sight of Cloud looking at her recent kill made her want to smile. She wondered if he had figured it out. The blond looked up and caught her eye. He gave a small smile.  
“Aerith, so it was you this whole time? I had a feeling.” Cloud grinned, “Let me guess, Cid sent you here as a disciplinary? I’m surprised you lasted this long without getting bored.”

“I didn’t mess up as bad as you did.” Aerith pointed out, “Don’t you ever get bored of looking at dead bodies? When is your disciplinary going to end? It’s been a few years now.”

“Of course, I don’t get bored.” Cloud snorted, indicating to the body on the table, “Not when you kill so beautifully. I’m not sure when will end, but now that you’re also in the bad books it might end a lot sooner than expected.”

“So how are you going to do it?” Aerith asked. He was the best person to get advice from, “You can’t just quit. We’re stuck here for good, aren’t we?”

“Only until we get caught. You do know that I do have days off and don’t actually live here, right?” Cloud laughed, “Don’t worry. It will be easy. You just need to do minor things to stray them away from the organisation.”

“Did you know that he wants me to do this and kill?” Aerith sighed, “But I guess it will be a bit more exciting.”

“You always were his favourite.” Cloud complained, “But if you ever need a hand, you know how to find me.”

“Thank you, Cloud.” Aerith smiled, giving him a quick hug, “It’ll be good working with you again.”

“Let’s cause havoc on this city.” Cloud smirked, “It’s about time something exciting happened.”


	4. The Rouge Assassin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is smut in this chapter. You have been warned ;)

* * *

This new kill was beautiful. There were branches embedded into this person’s back that gave the body the appearance that it had wings. Blue flowers were intertwined to the branches and in the hands were clasped a bouquet of white flowers.  
Sephiroth glanced at Aerith as she talked to Zack about flowers. He wondered how she killed, transported the body, and made a work of art of them. The brunette didn’t have a muscular frame from what he could see, but looks could be deceiving.  
“So all flowers have meaning?” Zack questioned, “You know this is going to sound bad. But this is kind of pretty. In a morbid way.”

“Yes. The blue flowers are forget-me-nots. It’s a romantic flower. True love, don’t forget me.” Aerith answered, looking at the body curiously. She didn’t look like she could kill a fly, yet here they were staring at a body that she did kill, “And the white flowers are Heathers, they symbolise protection.”

“Wow. So is there a possibility that the killer was in love with this person?” Zack frowned, “Or are they trying to get the attention of someone?”

“It could be either.” Aerith responded, “Was there any evidence found? We will need to find out where these particular flowers are sold. It might not be easy as the flowers shouldn’t really be growing as they’re not in season. So it’s someone that could have a scientific background.”

“Wow. Why didn’t you become a detective rather than a criminal psychologist?” Zack asked, “You’re pretty good at this.”

“I like trying to figure out why a person would kill in a particular way and what caused the person to choose to kill.” Aerith smiled, “It’s interesting to try an retrace the steps of someone that kills.”

“We need to work on a basic criminal profile,” Sephiroth stated firmly, cutting into their conversation. He had no idea why he was playing along with her game. He was very much aware that she was the killer. But the silver-haired detective still wanted to know why she was killing people and what she meant with the flowers. Who were the flowers aimed at?

The shrill sound of Zack’s phone ringing was not a good sign. Zack frowned at the phone before making affirmative noises to the other person on the line. He looked downfallen and Sephiroth knew that they were just about to get really bad news.  
“Shit. They’ve found another body.” Zack frowned. At that comment, Sephiroth couldn’t help but look at Aerith who also seemed a little surprised by it. It wasn’t likely that she committed two murders in one night, “A completely different MO. It appears that the Slayer of Nibelheim has made a reappearance.”

“What? The Slayer of Nibelheim?” Sephiroth hissed, this was not good at all. They spent years trying to catch the Slayer of Nibelheim. The killer disappeared without a trace. Sephiroth had thought that the killer had either died or moved onto another location. His green eyes landed on Aerith and he couldn’t help but wonder if she knew who the Slayer of Nibelheim was. There was a possibility that they worked together.

“Wow. The Slayer of Nibelheim. The killer’s been out of action for almost a decade now.” Aerith noted, “Maybe you were right. Maybe the killer was trying to get the attention of someone.”

“You seriously think that the Rouge Assassin is trying to gain the attention of the Slayer of Nibelheim?” Zack queried, “Their MO’s are completely different and the Rouge Assassin has only recently made an appearance as a serial killer.”

“The killer now has a name?” Aerith said softly, “But from what I’ve read in the case, the Rouge Assassin has only started to flowery kills recently. Please excuse the pun.”

“Oh. So you think there’s a possibility that the Rouge Assassin and Slayer of Nibelheim have just recently connected?” Zack continued, “Because that would definitely explain why the Rouge Assassin’s kills are more flowery and why the Nibelheim Slayer has decided to make a reappearance. It’s kind of like a serenade.”

“Can we not theorise until we see the actual body?” Sephiroth grounded out. She was playing with them. He hated that she had this effect on him. Sephiroth wasn’t the type of person that got jealous or annoyed. But he knew she was doing this for him. Not the Nibelheim Slayer, “For all we know it could be a copycat.”

“Okay. We’re going to the scene anyway.” Zack snorted, “This should be an interesting day. The paperwork is going to be hell.”

“I’m the one who fills it out.” Sephiroth pointed out, “It’s going to be hell for me.”

“Me too.” Aerith laughed, “I have a lot of paperwork too.”

“Are you going to write a paper on this?” Zack asked curiously, “I’m sure this would be an interesting read for future criminal psychologists.”

“Maybe,” Aerith responded lightly. Sephiroth had to withhold snorting in disbelief. It would be narcissistic for a killer to write about their own kills and mental psychology, “But I’m not really interested in writing any more papers. I’m just around to help detectives profile killers.”

——

This crime scene was completely different from the Rouge Assassin. Sephiroth could tell straight away that this was not a copycat killer. It was gruesome. The body was cut open and the cadavers internal organs were on display. It was passionate. Almost hysterical.  
“Wow,” Zack said almost breathlessly. Sephiroth always knew that Zack had a soft spot for the Nibelheim Slayer. It was moments like this that Sephiroth really wondered if they were any better than the actual killers because they seemed to enjoy delving into the minds of killers and investigating all these deaths. They were giving them the attention that they craved.

“It looks like you were right.” Aerith said offhandedly, “It does look like they’re serenading each other.”

That pissed Sephiroth off. Aerith grinned at him.

——

When they reached the office. Sephiroth felt an itch in his skin. Aerith was deliberately trying to annoy him and he needed to know why. Why did she take a sudden interest in him? He knew it had nothing to do with his family history. She had said that much.  
“Aerith. In my office.” Sephiroth stated firmly, Zack look bewildered at the order. The raven-haired man had never seen his partner snap. He had never seen him order anyone to go to his office. He looked at Aerith curiously and the brunette seemed more amused at the order than frightened, “Now.”

“Well. I guess I’ll see you later.” Zack sighed, walking away. What was the deal between them two? Sephiroth was hiding something from him. Maybe they were in a relationship or something.

As soon as they approached the office, Sephiroth spun Aerith around and slammed her into the door. Her green eyes were almost animalistic. She was excited. That pissed him off even more. He grabbed a lock of her hair and pulled harshly. Aerith moaned sweetly and smiled at him.  
“What the hell do you want from me?” Sephiroth hissed into her ear, “What are you trying to do?”

“I want you,” Aerith said breathlessly, gripping his arms. That brief moment was all it took for her to trip him over and straddle him. She was beautiful. Wild. He finally understood how she lured people. Her sweet act would draw anyone in, “You’re going to give me what I want.”

“You don’t want me.” Sephiroth laughed in disbelief, “I’m going to catch you and I’m going to make sure you stay locked up.”

“No. I do want you.” Aerith laughed, rocking into him. Sephiroth let out a low moan. The friction was delicious and his body submitted. Aerith drew closer to him and scented his neck, before harshly biting into it. Sephiroth hissed out, changing their positions, “I want you inside me.”

Never in his life did he think that he was going to fuck a criminal.

Sephiroth skillfully undid her jeans. It was a pain to get them off her legs, but it was definitely worth it. Seeing her lying below him in pastel pink panties did something to his libido. He wanted to tear them off. Something that looked so innocent should not be on a ruthless killer. He pulled her shirt over her head and the fact that she was wearing a matching set made Sephiroth wonder if she had planned this. Aerith had started the day thinking that they would have sex.  
“You expect me to believe that all you want is sex?” Sephiroth snorted, kissing down her body. Her skin was unmarred. Smooth. Feminine. He pulled her panties down using his teeth. Sephiroth made sure to keep eye contact with her. Aerith’s mouth was slightly open and he wanted to be cruel and leave her like that. Turned on with no satisfaction from him.

“A girl doesn’t kiss and tell,” Aerith whispered as he pressed a kiss to her mound. She let out a breathy sigh. He licked up her labia, and then sucked harshly on her clitoris. Aerith let out a squeak at that and pressed his face against her further by squeezing her thighs around his head. Her back arched as she squirmed and thrashed at the sensation, “I need you. I need you right now.”

Sephiroth unbuckled his pants. She was gorgeous. Lying there in nothing but a bra. It felt like he was finally seeing her. He rubbed the head of his cock against her clitoris.  
“Then take me.” Sephiroth hissed, slipping into her. Aerith gasped. He rocked into her harshly, before pulling her onto his lap. Aerith seemed to get the hint and took control she rocked into him equally as rough.

The sound of her moans and the sweat that gathered on her brow turned him on. The fact that she was in control of the whole situation made him feel animalistic. He wondered how many other people she lured between her legs. If she climaxed when she killed. That hit hard. He climaxed. Coming into her.  
“See how a little danger is addictive?” Aerith whispered in his ear, that was the moment he realised that he hadn’t worn any protection. Sephiroth was never this careless. She made him careless.

“This shouldn’t have happened,” Sephiroth growled, pulling out her quickly. The sight of their indiscretion made him angry with himself. The sight of his come leaking out of her, “This should not have happened.”

“But it did happen.” Aerith laughed.


	5. Reckless Abandonment

* * *

To say that Cid was pissed off was an understatement. The blond weathered the floor as he paced back and forth. Aerith thought that it was pretty amusing. Cloud didn’t seem to understand what was going on. But that was because he didn’t have eyes everywhere. It was Cid’s job to watch them and make sure that they didn’t mess up.  
“I told you to lay low. Not to fuck the damn detective on the case.” Cid growled, “Jesus. What did you think that would do?”

“You fucked Zack?” Cloud hissed, Aerith had never seen him angry in regards to who she had sex with. It wasn’t something that he really cared about and that made Aerith wonder what his connection to Zack was, “What the hell?”

“No. I didn’t have sex with Zack.” Aerith laughed, folding her arms under her chest, “Have you seen the head detective? I don’t know why you’re so surprised. It would have happened at some point.”

“Sephiroth? You actually slept with Sephiroth?” Cloud looked puzzled, “How did you manage that? So many people have tried and he’s very strict with work and pleasure.”

“Well clearly not everyone if he slipped his dick in her.” Cid snorted, “But I’ve been given orders from upper management. You need to lay off the kills. You’ve killed enough state officials to frighten them and we are definitely in hot water right now.”

“So I’m guessing I’m not going to be getting any hits for a while too?” Cloud asked, “What’s the plan? We’ve frightened them. But there surely has to be something else?”

“I’m not sure yet.” Cid admitted, “But keep your phones on you. There’s a high possibility that this is going to get messy.”

“I love messy.” Aerith smiled. She couldn’t wait. Things were going to get a lot more interesting.

\----

It had been a few weeks since the last kill and Sephiroth was getting a little suspicious. He hadn’t seen Aerith after the incident, and in all honesty, he was relieved. Sephiroth wasn’t sure how he was supposed to act around her.  
“So are you going to tell me about the love bite?” Zack asked curiously peering at him. The mark that Aerith had left on his neck had disappeared, but not before Zack saw it, “You’ve been acting weird.”

“It was a one night stand,” Sephiroth said flatly. He really did not want to talk about it, “There’s not much more to say.”

“Did she give you something?” Zack questioned, he was far too amused by the whole situation. It was annoying that Zack seemed to enjoy it when he was annoyed, “Is that why you’re being so defensive?”

“No.” Sephiroth sighed, “Can you just drop it?”

“Ah. You caught feelings.” Zack laughed, “Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us.”

“What are you talking about?” A voice cut in, Cloud was never usually seen outside of the morgue, so it was a little surprising to see him on the office floor, “Sorry, to cut in. My shifts ended and I have some time to kill.”

“Sephiroth got laid and he’s being all secretive about it.” Zack grinned, “I’m trying to find out who the lady who took the stick out of his ass is.”

“I know who she is.” Cloud snorted, earning an incredulous look from Zack. But Sephiroth had a feeling in his gut that the blond did know, “But that doesn’t matter. It’s Sephiroth’s own business who he decides to share a bed with.”

“You’re no fun!” Zack complained, before turning to Sephiroth, “But I guess I’m just happy you finally got some.”

“It’s nice to know that you’re so invested in my sex life.” Sephiroth frowned, “Can we talk about this case? Why would the killer suddenly stop?”

“Maybe they realised you were catching up to them?” Cloud offered, “Or maybe something came up? Who knows? Maybe they have a family or something.”

That filled Sephiroth with dread. He did have unprotected sex with Aerith. There was a chance of pregnancy. He didn’t even think of the possibility, not until Cloud mentioned the whole family thing. Aerith had not been in the office for a while.  
“Does anyone know where Aerith lives?” Sephiroth asked, “I need to drop the case file by her house.”

“Can’t you just email it?” Zack frowned, “Oh. Do you like like her? Because if you do I think it’s better to tell her rather than find a late-night booty call. You’re never going to get satisfied that way.”

“You shouldn’t pry.” Cloud teased, “Ah, so Aerith’s the psychologist that they put on the case? We went to the same university, so I’m not sure if she still lives at the same address.”

“I’ll check.” Sephiroth sighed, deciding that he should talk before Zack asked more questions. The raven-haired man was too intuitive. He probably had a basic idea of what was going on, “I can’t email confidential files over email. You should know that.”

“I’ll text you it.” Cloud smiled, “I should go. See you around.”

“Bye!” Zack yelled after him as Cloud left. The raven-haired man then turned to Sephiroth. The detective dreaded what his partner was going to say, “You had Cloud’s number this entire time and you didn’t think of giving it to me?”

“Jesus Zack. Think with your head and not your dick.” Sephiroth groaned, “I should probably drop the files off at Aerith’s. Let’s call it a day.”

“As usual, I’m left to mind my own business.” Zack snorted, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

\----

The address that Cloud gave him lead to a nice little cottage on the outskirts of town. Flowers were intertwined with the house. It fit her facade perfectly. The thing that annoyed him the most was that none of the flowers that were used in the murders was seen on site. He wondered where she got the flowers.  
“Are you going stand around looking at my house or are you going to knock?” Aerith asked, standing behind him. It startled him. Sephiroth wasn’t expecting her to be outside, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Are you pregnant?” Sephiroth asked. It was best to get straight to the point. Aerith stared at him silently before laughing. It was a melodious laugh, something sweet that he could never imagine coming out of a killer, “Why are you laughing? This is serious. We had unprotected sex.”

“I’m laughing because you would think that I would be so careless to not take any precautions.” Aerith smiled, moving to her house. She opened the door and let him in, “But no. I’m not pregnant.”

“So why aren’t you in work?” Sephiroth frowned, looking around the house. Maybe he would be able to find some evidence against her that put her at the scene of the crimes.

“Because I’m only called in when there’s a murder and there haven't been any murders as of yet.” Aerith pointed out, “It almost sounds like you miss me.”

“So why haven’t you been killing?” Sephiroth queried, in turn making Aerith laugh again, “I don’t understand what you’re finding so funny.”

“You sound like a psychiatrist.” Aerith answered, “But I haven’t been killing because no one has a hit on them. I can’t kill unless there’s a hit.”

“You’re a hitman?” Sephiroth voiced, that surprised him. It was far from what he was expecting, “So all of those kills were targets?”

“Yeah. I think you should probably look into the background of all the people that I have killed.” Aerith stated, “They’ve done some pretty bad things.”

“So you think of yourself as some kind of vigilante?” Sephiroth snorted, “You know that it’s illegal. Even if they’re doing bad things, that doesn’t give you a valid reason to kill them.”

“I’m not a vigilante.” Aerith said firmly, “I have my reasons for doing what I do. It just happens to be a coincidence that I’m good at it. But I don’t think it’s fair for you to judge me when you don’t know the full story.”

“You’re very stubborn.” Sephiroth sighed, taking a seat on the chair. It was not a good idea to come here. He had a feeling that he was going to do something stupid, “Are you going to tell me the full story?”

“I could say the same about you. You’re equally as stubborn as I am.” Aerith smiled, taking a seat beside him. It unnerved him that she chose to not answer his question. But if she wanted to tell him, she would. He could be patient, “So tell me. What why did you really come here?”

“We have to talk about what happened.” Sephiroth stressed, “What happened in the office. It shouldn’t have happened.”

“Nothing happened in the office.” Aerith sighed, “We discussed the reappearance of the Nibelheim Slayer and we went over the case file.”

Sephiroth stared at her for a few minutes. He could appreciate that she was discrete and that she probably wouldn’t mention it to anyone. But that didn’t change the fact that what they did was reckless. The detective leaned towards her and caressed her cheek.

She was beautiful. 

Sephiroth let a low sigh before giving in to temptation. He pressed his lips against her own.

\----


	6. Flesh Wounds and Distractions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I've been gone for a little bit. But let's just say life has been hectic. But then I saw one of the loveliest comments in my inbox and I was inspired to write a chapter for this particular fic. I will definitely respond to the comments when I have the chance to. :)

* * *

It had been over a month since Aerith last spoke to Sephiroth. The detective reacted badly to the realisation that he had just kissed her. The brunette had never had a man respond to her in such a way and it made her wonder what was going through his head. And it didn’t help that Cid decided to reprimand her, the blond sometimes felt like a disapproving father. But it still didn’t make sense to her why she was the one that got into trouble because she wasn’t the one who initiated the kiss.  
“Duck!” Cid yelled. The shout was too short notice. But Aerith did have enough time to manoeuvre for the bullet to just graze her arm. She stared at her arm in shock. The damn hit had a silencer so she wouldn’t have heard the shot, “Shit.”

“What the hell is going on?” Aerith hissed, grabbing hold of Cid’s shirt. The brunette knew how hits worked. If they missed they would leave and reappear whenever there was an opportunity. They would try and make sure that Cid wasn’t there next time, “Why the hell was I just shot at?”

“It appears that they have discovered that you were the one that was killing all the members in the organisation.” Cid sighed. They weren’t supposed to find out any information about her. Aerith wondered if someone in their organisation leaked the information, “But you’re definitely going to have to kill whoever that was.”

“Of course. But it’s your job to find out who that was.” Aerith stated firmly. She could do it herself, but she had better things to do with her time. The brunette was going to have to go to the morgue to let Cloud know of the situation. He probably also had a hit on him, “We’re all at risk now.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll fix this. I’ll find out who put a hit on us.” Cid promised, “I’ll let you know when I have more information.”

“I’ll see you then.” Aerith sighed, “I need to warn Cloud.”

\----

It was strange to be back in the office after so long. Everyone was really nice to her, and she couldn’t help but feel glad that she hadn’t seen Sephiroth around. She didn’t have the time or energy to deal with him. The detective would probably want to talk about what happened. The brunette didn’t understand why he didn’t just go with the flow and enjoy himself instead of over-thinking everything.  
“Aerith! I haven’t seen you in a while.” Zack commented pulling her into. Aerith winced slightly because her graze was still knew. It probably would have been better for her to wait for the wound to scab, “I thought that Sephiroth scared you with the home visit.”

“I’m not easily scared.” Aerith laughed, she did miss Zack. He was fun to be around, and the man was more perceptive than most people thought he was, “Do you know if Cloud’s in the morgue?”

“Where else would he be?” Zack sighed, it was clear that he still wasn’t lucky on the Cloud front. The problem with Cloud was that he was very cat and mouse when it came to relationships. Hopefully, Zack would be able to catch him, “I swear he lives down there.”

“I can assure you that he does not.” Aerith smiled, “I’m going to go down and see him and make sure that he has human interaction with something other than a dead body.”

“Good luck!” Zack yelled after her, “You’re going to need it!”

The walk down to the morgue always annoyed her more than it should have. It just got a hell of a lot colder and made her question whether it was appropriate for her to take a sweater down. She knocked twice on the side of the room before entering. Cloud was the type of person that would hold a scalpel to your throat if you made any surprised visits.  
“Aerith. What can I do for you?” Cloud smiled, the blond was unaware of what was going on and that made Aerith sigh in relief. It looked like staying down in the morgue had it’s pluses because it would be hard to kill someone that worked beneath an organisation like this, “There are no dead bodies, so I can tell that Cid hasn’t given you any new hits.”

“Well, that’s about to change.” Aerith sighed, pulling her arm down to show him the graze, “Someone put a hit on me, so you most likely have one on you too.”

“You got shot?” Cloud asked, grabbing her arm and examining the graze, “Jesus. Who put a hit on us?”

“That’s what Cid’s going to find out. But it appears that our suspension has been cut short.” Aerith frowned, “I just wanted to give you a heads up, be prepared.”

“I’m always prepared.” Cloud stated firmly, “But the question is, are you? You’re not the type to get shot easily.”

“The hitman had a silencer.” Aerith explained, “I didn’t hear a thing.”

“No. You were distracted.” Cloud commented, “Even with a silencer you would have been able to avoid getting hit.”

“You’re reading too much into nothing.” Aerith shot back, “I am not distracted.”

“Make sure you’re not.” Cloud declared, “Or I’ll be examining you on this table soon.”

“I’m not distracted,” Aerith repeated, she was a little annoyed at the implication. But she wasn’t going to dwell on it. What was said was said. There was nothing she could do about and she was sure that she wouldn’t be able to prove her words until they were back in action, “I’ll see you around. Take care.”

“You too.” Cloud sighed, “I do like you, you know.”

“I like you too.” Aerith smiled, pressing a friendly kiss on his cheek before leaving.

Cloud’s words really got to her, because he was right in a way. She wasn’t the type of person that got injured. Her response time was a lot better usually and the fact that she managed to get a graze was worrying. It made her wonder if she was developing feelings for Sephiroth. A harsh grab on her injured arm made her wince and let out a low groan, she turned to face the perpetrator and she was met with Sephiroth’s face. He looked concern and she had a feeling it had something to do with her reaction. He let go of her arm as if he had scalded himself on a hot pan.  
“What happened?” Sephiroth asked, concern lacing his tone. Aerith wasn’t sure how to respond. No one ever showed concern for her, especially out of work. Cid and Cloud were there to make sure she didn’t mess up and their concern entwined with their own specific goals and needs, “You’re hurt.”

“It’s just a flesh wound,” Aerith answered. She didn’t want him to know that she had a hit on her. Sephiroth seemed to be the type of guy that worried about people, even if they were bad. And she didn’t want him to get involved in her work life, “I should probably head home.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Sephiroth queried, “You know if you’re in trouble or even if you need to talk to someone, I am here.”

“Thank you.” Aerith smiled, “I really appreciate it, but I’m all okay.”

“Okay.” Sephiroth sighed, “I guess I’ll see you around.”

“Yes, I’ll see you around.” Aerith agreed, waving at him before leaving.

\----

Cloud watched the scene with curiosity. It was clear that Aerith had some kind of attachment to Sephiroth and that was never good. If he told Cid about this, he was definite that Sephiroth would be their next target. Sometimes he wondered if it was worth the risk. But the idea of someone killing Zack wasn’t worth it.  
“You finish your shift?” Zack asked, sneaking up behind him, “How’d you feel about getting a coffee with me?”

“Yeah, I just finished.” Cloud answered, “Sorry. I won’t be able to go for a coffee. I need to get home and catch up on sleep.”

“Rain-check?” Zack smiled, he was very diligent and Cloud wasn’t sure how long he would be able to keep up the appearance of indifference. The blond found Zack charming and if he were any other person he probably would have given the detective a chance. But his field of work ensured that he couldn’t get close to anyone because ties always got cut. Whether you destroy them yourself, or someone else did it for you. Cloud couldn’t get attached. He wasn’t going to be like Aerith, “Maybe we can get dinner and catch a movie sometime?”

“We’ll see.” Cloud said politely, “I can’t promise you anything. My shifts are always awkward. Anyway, I need to tell Sephiroth something before I go. So I’ll see you around.”

“See you.” Zack voiced, he sounded a little hurt. But he always did whenever Cloud shut him down. Maybe it was time the blond considered another career path.

Sephiroth seemed to be in his own world when Cloud approached him.  
“Hey.” Cloud greeted, “Are you okay?”

“You’re friends with Aerith. Is she okay?” Sephiroth frowned. Now Cloud understood. It was a mutual attachment.

“Well as okay as anyone can be after getting shot.” Cloud snorted, watching as Sephiroth’s face contorted in surprise.

Oh shit. 

Cloud may have just caused an avalanche.


	7. Jealousy/Care

* * *

“What do you mean she got shot?” Sephiroth asked firmly. The silver-haired man seemed concerned which wasn’t that surprising to Cloud considering the fact that he had been around normal people for quite some time now to understand how they felt, “She told me it was just a flesh wound.”

“It is a flesh wound. Just a graze.” Cloud tried to explain, he had a feeling that it wouldn’t make that much of a difference. Sephiroth was still going to end up going to Aerith’s house and he didn’t even want to think about what would happen, “I checked it over and there is nothing to worry about.”

“How can you be so nonchalant about it? This is your friend your talking about.” Sephiroth frowned, “Why didn’t she tell me about this?”

“Probably because she knew you would worry like this.” Cloud commented, “Please don’t do anything stupid. Aerith will know that I was the one that mentioned that she got shot and I don’t want to be in her bad books.”

“Fine.” Sephiroth agreed reluctantly, “I’m still going to see her.”

“I know.” Cloud smiled, “Be careful with her.”

\----

Aerith stared at the graze in the mirror, she was always a fast healer. Something to do with the freakish experiments her father did. But that didn’t change the fact that she had been hit. Her reactions were usually better than that. There was a chance that she would have to pay a visit to an old friend, he would know if there was a change in her biology.  
The sharp sound of a knock on her door made the brunette let out a sigh. She knew that Sephiroth would make an appearance sooner or later. The detective was too perceptive for anything to slip past him.  
“Aerith? Are you there?” Sephiroth queried, Aerith had the temptation to not respond. To just have a break from everything. Maybe it was time that she did take a quick vacation. Get out of the city for a little bit.

“The door’s open.” Aerith responded, she re-wrapped her injured arm before going to face her demons, “How can I help?”

“You didn’t think it was necessary to tell me that you got shot?” Sephiroth asked, the detective was preceptive, but he wasn’t that preceptive. He wouldn’t have been able to tell that she had been shot. Which meant that Cloud probably let it slip.

“No. I didn’t think it was necessary.” Aerith stated, cutting straight to the point, “What are you doing here?”

“Checking up on you.” Sephiroth answered, “How bad is the flesh wound?”

“I’ll survive.” Aerith answered lowly, “I’m going to be heading out of the city for a little bit.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Sephiroth frowned, “You have people that are after you. It’s not like you can just disappear and hope for the best. You’ve already been shot.”

“What are you suggesting?” Aerith frowned, she had a feeling she wouldn’t it like. But if it made sense, she would probably go along with it. Just so that she could live a little longer.

“I’m coming with you.” Sephiroth stated firmly, “I’m not taking no for an answer.”

“You can’t decide that for me.” Aerith hissed, “I can go whenever and wherever I please with or without you’re permission.”

“I understand that. I’m not saying that I have any control over you. But I need to make sure that you’re safe.” Sephiroth started, “Look. I don’t know what’s going on between us. I can’t even put a label on what we are.”

“Why do you care so much about me?” Aerith queried, “There’s nothing going on between us. We had a bit of fun, but that’s it. You’re going to be the detective to eventually take me down and that’s all there is to our story.”

“Aerith. You’re wrong.” Sephiroth insisted, “I care about you more than I care about my own damn career. What happened between us was not a bit of fun. We both know that. So instead of fighting me on every suggestion I make, why don’t you let me help you for a change?”

“This was what I was worried about happening. I don’t want you to give up everything for me.” Aerith voiced, “You spent years building this career. You managed to prove all of those people who doubted you wrong and now you want to throw that all away for someone like me? That’s not right. I’m not going to let you throw away your life for me.”

It was that moment that Aerith finally realised how much she actually cared for him. The brunette knew that she couldn’t call it love, but she knew that if she gave it time… It would eventually develop into love.  
“That’s my choice to make.” Sephiroth grinned, before pulling her into a kiss. It was a deep kiss, full of passion. It made Aerith feel dizzy. The brunette, placed her hand flat on his chest and pushed him slightly. Sephiroth broke the kiss, but he remained close to her. It was an intimate distance and Aerith couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with how comfortable she was near him, “I know this isn’t smart. I will catch you one day, but while I have no evidence there isn’t really anything I can do.”

“This is the opposite of what you should do in this kind of situation.” Aerith pointed out, “Instead of trying to bed me, why don’t you try to pin something on me instead?”

“Why don’t I pin you against a wall? Let’s think about the present now rather than the future?” Sephiroth continued, “Let me enjoy this slight bit of insanity. I want to be human for once. Do things that I know are wrong and live with the consequences later.”

“Fine.” Aerith sighed, “There’s no need to pack. I’m just heading a little North of Nibelheim. I don’t think we’ll need to stay there too long. But my friend is a little unpredictable so it’s good to be prepared just in case.”

“Are we meeting the Nibelheim Slayer?” Sephiroth frowned, he didn’t think that Aerith would want to introduce him to the Nibelheim Slayer, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“We’re not meeting the Nibelheim Slayer.” Aerith assured him, “The Nibelheim Slayer doesn’t have time for trips like this.”

“So you do know him?” Sephiroth queried. It took a moment for all the pieces to finally fit together. There was only one person that seemed to know things about Aerith and that was Cloud Strife. Sephiroth couldn’t imagine Cloud doing anything other than working at the morgue. The guy had a medical degree. The more he thought about it, the more all it all started to make sense. The Nibelheim slays stopped when Cloud transferred into their department, “Cloud is the Nibelheim Slayer.”

“Do you really think that?” Aerith snorted, she didn’t want to be the one that helped Sephiroth solve who the Nibelheim Slayer was, “Or is that what the Nibelheim Slayer wants you to think? Because I’m sure all the conclusions you came up with are very convenient. But the main question you need to ask yourself is, if Cloud Strife is the Nibelheim Slayer why would he be helping you solve all these other cases? And when and where would Cloud have the time to kill? He works the dead shift. He was at work when the kills occurred.”

“Okay. I’ll drop it for now.” Sephiroth sighed, “But Cloud is on my list of suspects for the Nibelheim Slayer.”

“If you want to put his a person of interest. I can’t stop you.” Aerith started, “But I don’t think Cloud will appreciate you digging in his past. He’s very aware of what I do, but there’s a valid reason.”

“What is a valid reason?” Sephiroth frowned. Aerith knew that she shouldn’t really tell the silver-haired man this. But it was a way to get him off of Cloud’s back. The brunette wanted Sephiroth’s attention to be on her, “I can’t think of anything that would validate a coroner to protect a criminal.”

“We both used to work at the honey bee inn.” Aerith answered, “It wasn’t an ideal place to work, but we needed to pay our college fees.”

“So he’s keeping your identity a secret because you both worked at the honey bee inn.” Sephiroth said in a tone that clearly showed his disbelief at her comment, “There are less favourable places to work. But I doubt that Cloud would care so much.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to show you this…” Aerith continued, looking through her phone. She knew that she had an image to show that Cloud would be embarrassed for anyone to see this, “There. Cloud doesn’t actually know what I do. But he does know that it’s not legal. That’s all. He’s never tried to find out what I do.”

Sephiroth frowned at the picture. The man definitely was not expecting this.  
“Cloud makes a pretty woman.” Sephiroth commented, handing her phone back to her, “Thank you for explaining what your involvement with him was. It was a shock to find out you knew each other enough for him to know where you lived.”

“Are you jealous of my relationship with Cloud?” Aerith laughed loudly, the brunette looked like she was going to fall over, so Sephiroth being the gentleman that he was tried to steady her, “Not that it’s any of your business what my relationship with Cloud is, but he’s like a younger brother.”

“Oh…” Sephiroth breathed, “And I wasn’t jealous.”

“Keep telling yourself that!” Aerith sang. Sephiroth frowned in response, “I know what jealousy looks like.”

* * *


	8. North Nibelheim

* * *

Aerith wasn’t sure why she let Sephiroth come along with her. The silver-haired detective was the type of person that was stubborn enough to do whatever he wanted. It would be easier with the man travelling with her than him following her. They were currently on the train and it was quieter than usual. The brunette couldn’t help but wonder if her friend was going to be able to help her out with her current predicament. She was weaker than usual and she had a feeling that something had gone wrong internally. Maybe all of the experiments her father forced her into had gone to hell. Now she wouldn’t have any comfort with the idea that something came from the trauma of it.  
“What are you thinking about?” Sephiroth asked curiously, the detective was sat on the seat opposite of her and he was peeling an apple with a knife. Most people would eat the apple with the skin on. But apparently the great Sephiroth was too great for that, “Are you leading me to my death?”

“If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already.” Aerith commented, “Do you forget who you’re talking to?”

“I haven’t forgotten.” Sephiroth snorted, easting an apple slice. She really did want to wipe that smug look off of his face, “But you can’t seem to take a joke.”

“I regret letting you come along.” Aerith sighed, “It would have been a peaceful journey without you.”

“Are you sure? Because I seem to have gathered a few fans already on this trip.” Sephiroth laughed, pointing to the girls that were looking into their train window. Aerith sighed again, before rolling the curtain down for privacy, “Well, that wasn’t nice. At least there were people appreciating me.”

“I’m not sure how many times I have to repeat it. But I didn’t want you to come in the first place.” Aerith pointed out, folding her hands under her chest, “How did you even manage to get time off work in such short notice?”

“Accumulated holidays.” Sephiroth answered, “And no one can say no to their boss taking leave. I’m sure Zack will handle things perfectly fine without me.”

“Let’s hope he does,” Aerith commented. Sephiroth moved to the seat beside her, “You should move back.”

“Why should I?” Sephiroth grinned, if he was going to act as nothing happened and that they were going on leave as a couple. Aerith could play that game. And she was very good at playing, “If you want to nap, you can.”

Aerith sighed, before pulling his face towards her. The brunette never usually kissed her partners. She found it to be too intimate. But she was going to make an exception.  
“Move.” Aerith smiled, “Or you’ll regret it.”

The train stopped to a halt, indicating that the trip was over. Aerith beamed at Sephiroth before stepping out of their room.  
“So we’re in North Nibelheim.” Sephiroth commented, “Are you going to finally tell me who we’re meeting?”

“That would be me.” A voice announced. Aerith smiled before wrapping her arms around his torso, “Vincent Valentine, nice to meet you.”

“Your name. It sounds familiar.” Sephiroth frowned, Vincent’s eyes widened in shock slightly. The dark-haired man looked at Aerith quietly and it appeared that the two were having a conversation without words. It felt rather uncomfortable for him because he had no idea what they were planning to do with him, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just wasn’t expecting to see you this soon.” Vincent commented, “You’ve grown a lot Sephiroth. But you don’t look like either of your parents.”

“You knew my parents?” Sephiroth continued, he didn’t like where this conversation was going.

“Of course.” Vincent answered, “I know you too.”

Sephiroth frowned at the comment. It was impossible. Vincent looked to be around the same age as him and the only person that he could recall was the man that his mother used to work with.  
“Can we talk about what we originally came here to talk about?” Aerith asked, changing the subject, “I want to know what’s going on with me.”

“I have a feeling I already know.” Vincent commented, “Sephiroth, do you think you can keep yourself busy for an hour. I have classified information I need to pass to Aerith.”

“I’m sure whatever you need to say to her can be said in front of me.” Sephiroth pointed out, he wasn’t taking the chance of letting Aerith leave with Vincent. He had no idea what the two were planning. For all he knows, they could be planning on murdering him.

“It’s doctor-patient confidentiality and unless you are married to my patient, her medical history should not matter to you.” Vincent said in a straightforward tone, “If Aerith chooses to divulge the information to you later, that’s perfectly fine. But right now I need to talk to her about something serious.”

“Fine.” Sephiroth agreed, “I’ll take a look around town.”

\----

When Aerith was finally alone with Vincent she could let out the breath that she was holding in. The dark-haired man appeared amused by her reaction and gave her a knowing look.  
“Aerith. Do you remember a few years ago you went through something similar to this?” Vincent asked, “You had to take leave so that we could ensure that you healed mentally.”

“I know.” Aerith said softly, “But what does that have to do with what’s going on?”

“I told you that it would be physically impossible for you to get pregnant because of the experiments your father conducted on you.” Vincent started, “But that was in regards to normal people. Like if I were to have sexual relations with you, you would most likely get pregnant.”

“Yes, I know.” Aerith snorted, “That’s why I gave up on the idea of getting married and having a family. This is the only job I have going for me at the moment. I still need to make sure that the mission is complete.”

“Did you not once stop to question whether your lover was experimented on? Sephiroth is the child of the mad scientist Hojo. He’s the guy that experimented on his wife to the point that she went mad and went on a killing spree.” Vincent continued, “Before you deny it. I am very aware of the fact that you two have had sex. Cid was not happy with having to relay this to us. And I have to say that your sex life doesn’t concern me, but this does. I’m going to have to pull you out of your active role and put you on indefinite leave.”

“Indefinite leave? Just because I had sex with the lead detective?” Aerith said in an incredulous tone, “Vincent you know that this is ridiculous. I am still capable of working. I’m one of the best you have.”

“This wasn’t my decision. It was his.” Vincent stated firmly, “I know that you are one of the best we have. But I can’t compromise when it comes to you. Especially with the fact that there is a chance that you are pregnant.”

“Pregnant?” Aerith queried, folding her arms under her chest stubbornly, “So you think I’m pregnant and you're putting me on indefinite leave until you figure out if I am or not?”

“Yes.” Vincent sighed, “Now let’s take a blood test and see what we’re working with.”

“Fine.” Aerith agreed, “Let’s get it out of the way.”

\----

It was only after the blood test that Vincent’s words finally made sense in her head. Aerith felt like she was going to throw up. What the hell was she going to do if she was pregnant? She didn’t have a motherly bone in her. For goodness sake, she actually killed people for a living.  
“What’s bothering you?” Sephiroth asked, “You’ve been quiet ever since you had your talk with Vincent.”

“Sephiroth. I need you to be completely honest with me.” Aerith started, “Did your parents experiment on you?”

“No one is supposed to know about that.” Sephiroth grounded out, “Yes. I wasn’t conceived under normal circumstances. No one’s entirely sure what they did to me. But I haven’t ever experienced sickness and when I’m injured I do heal faster than what is considered normal.”

“Oh hell.” Aerith groaned, “Don’t worry your secret is safe with me. But this does make things complicated.”

“What do you mean it makes things complicated?” Sephiroth frowned, “How does my medical history cause problems?”

“It causes problems because I thought that you were a normal person and now I’m compromised because you might have…” Aerith trailed off, she wasn’t sure if there was a point to tell him because there was a chance that she wasn’t even pregnant. But from her own life experiences, she knew that somethings were better said rather than left unsaid, “Sephiroth. I don’t know how else to say this so I’m going to be as straightforward as I can be in a situation. There might be a possibility that I’m pregnant.”

“Pregnant? I thought you said that you were on the pill?” Sephiroth voiced harshly, “Have you been lying to me this entire time?”

“Yes. I lied about the pill thing.” Aerith continued, “But it was a lot easier to say that than to say that it’s impossible for me to get pregnant because I’m superhuman and I physically can’t get pregnant from a normal person.”

“So because I’m not entirely normal, there’s a chance that you’re pregnant?” Sephiroth asked incredulously, “How do you expect me to believe something like that.”

“Don’t believe it if you don’t want to.” Aerith voiced, “In the end, it makes no difference to me. I was being polite and thought that you should know. I never learn from my mistakes. I should have listened to him from the beginning.”

“Listened to who?” Sephiroth frowned, this moment of vulnerability might be the key to him to take down this organisation. He could finally put an end to these murders, “Ever since I started working with you, I’ve noticed that you don’t follow the rules. So I want to know is who has the power to control you?”

“I owe him my life.” Aerith said, “And therefore, he owns my loyalty.”

* * *


	9. The Twist

* * *

Zack stared at his reflection. Everything was going to plan, it had taken some time for him to infiltrate the department. He had worked his ass off to become a lead detective. But ever since the recent murders and screw-ups, Zack couldn’t help but feel like the murderers were peacocking. The fact that they had humour and decided to serenade each other with flowery murders was morbid, but hilarious in some kind of fucked up way. Zack was used to things being fucked-up. The majority of his life consisted in fuck-ups one way or the other.  
The raven-haired detective sighed as he approached the morgue. Now that Aerith and Sephiroth were not in the building, he finally had the chance to talk to Cloud. He grinned to himself as he let himself into the morgue.  
“So how did he die?” Zack asked curiously, looking at the cadaver on Cloud’s table. The dead body didn’t have any external lacerations or any flowery displays, so Zack knew immediately that this wasn’t a victim of the notorious murder duo.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Cloud commented in a bored tone, showing Zack the scalpel in his hand, “What are you doing down here? This isn’t one of your cases.”

“It’s not one of my cases that’s for sure.” Zack said, “But Cloud, have you noticed something about people like you?”

“People like me?” Cloud asked, humouring the detective. Zack didn’t appear to be his usual happy-go-lucky. It was intimidating in a way that he was sure wasn’t possible. Zack was not dangerous.

“Yes. People like the Nibelheim Slayer.” Zack said offhandedly, “You can tell where to look by just looking into the person’s eyes.”

“What are you insinuating?” Cloud frowned, “That I’m the Nibelheim Slayer?”

“I’m not insinuating.” Zack stated, “I know that you are the Nibelheim Slayer. Just like I know that Aerith is the Rouge Assassin.”

“If you know this, then why haven’t we been incarcerated? It’s your job to put murderers like us behind bars.” Cloud mused, “I don’t see any other reason why you’re telling me this.”

“Look at my eyes.” Zack stated firmly, “If you look into my eyes, you will know exactly what I am.”

“I’ll humour you.” Cloud snorted covering the cadaver’s face, before turning to face Zack. He looked into the detectives eyes and noticed the familiar glow of mako. Zack was like them. Cloud recoiled at the sight. He had researched and gotten close to Sephiroth so that he could get information about the investigations. But this entire time he should have also put some time in researching his partner. It was common sense. But Zack’s appearance of being bubbly and a flirt made Cloud not think of him as a threat, “Who are you?”

“Who am I?” Zack grinned, “I am the ghost. And I was here to make sure that the two of you wouldn’t get caught. But the both of you have a fascination with Sephiroth and that’s going to be your downfall. The man probably already knows about Aerith. But what’s he going to do when he finds out that you’re the Nibelheim Slayer? You don’t have the same connection to him as Aerith does.”

“You can’t be the ghost.” Cloud stated firmly, “The ghost was just a rumour. Something told to boards to frighten them.”

“But that’s where you’re wrong, Cloud.” Zack snorted, “I am the ghost. Cid and Vincent are under my control and the two of you were not even supposed to know about my existence. But after you both decided to have fun and get Sephiroth’s attention, you managed to fuck everything up and now I’m going to be the one who has to clean up your mess.”

“What are you going to do?” Cloud asked. It was frightening to think that Zack had him fooled this entire time. To think that he was a part of this from the beginning scared Cloud, “Are you going to kill us?”

“That depends on what happens when Aerith and Sephiroth are back.” Zack voiced, “But you should hear this from me, Aerith is now on indefinite leave. I will decide what to do with her once I receive confirmation from Vincent on the test results.”

“Test results?” Cloud frowned, “Aerith went to Vincent for tests? What happened?”

“I’m sure that you’ve noticed that her strengths have been waning enough for her to actually get shot.” Zack commented, “Well. I have a good idea of what is happening.”

“No. You can’t be the ghost because Aerith knows you.” Cloud blurted out suddenly, he remembered her mentioning it to him before, “She would have told me if it was you.”

“She doesn’t know that it’s me.” Zack said calmly, “But she will figure it out eventually. Do you seriously think that I would let anyone see me like this?”

“This doesn’t make sense.” Cloud continued, “This whole time you were pretending to have a crush on me just so that you could watch me?”

“It has nothing to do with crushes.” Zack teased, “Look Cloud. I do like you, you’re pretty to look at. But if you keep making my job harder for me there won’t be any hard feeling if I have to get rid of you.”

\----

It was the only after the argument that Sephiroth considered the seriousness of the situation. If Aerith was pregnant, that would cause problems for both of them. How was he supposed to catch her if she was having his child? It was confusing to say the least and he never thought he would be in a situation like this in the near future. His father had always commented that it would impossible to start his own family. He needed to by himself to realise that Aerith was telling the truth. This probably wouldn’t have happened if she knew about him, but they were both to blame in the situation. Because Aerith could have told him too.  
“You had quite the fight there.” Vincent said, taking a seat opposite of Sephiroth, “I know I shouldn’t intrude on your personal matters. But I think you should talk to her. Now that everything has sunken in.”

“Fine.” Sephiroth sighed, leaving Vincent’s lounge to find Aerith. It wasn’t that hard to find the brunette. She was sat in the kitchen staring out of the window, “Can we talk?”

“So you can accuse me of lying again?” Aerith snorted, “Do you seriously think that I would plan something like this? I’m not a homemaker, let alone motherly.”

“What makes you think that you wouldn’t be a good mother?” Sephiroth asked, wrapping his arms around her waist, “Would it be such a bad thing to settle down and have a family?”

“Yes, it would be a bad thing.” Aerith frowned, “If you haven’t noticed, I kill people. Important people. And having a child is not in the plan. They’re not like pets, you have to do a lot to take care of them… I also got rid of the whole idea of having kids after I found out that it wasn’t something that could happen easily.”

“It seems pretty easy enough considering that you’re in this position.” Sephiroth stated, “But I understand that it’s your body, your choice. Whatever you choose to do, I’m on your side.”

“You’d be perfectly fine with it if I aborted the child?” Aerith asked. Yes. She killed people, but this was kind of different. She never thought that she would have children and the idea that she could make her question everything. If she was pregnant, Aerith would probably keep the child.

“It doesn’t matter how I feel. It’s about you.” Sephiroth smiled, “Because, in the end, you’re going to have to end up dealing with the majority of things. Like being pregnant, giving birth, raising the kid.”

“If I were to have the baby. Would you support me?” Aerith asked curiously, this was the guy that was supposed to take her down. Not settle her down and have a family with her, “I need to know what will happen.”

“I promise that I will be there to support you.” Sephiroth promised, “And if you were to abort the child, it wouldn’t change my feelings for you.”

“So now that you’ve made up. I can finally tell you.” Vincent smiled, the man seemingly appeared out of nowhere. It was almost as if he was a ghost, “The results are inconclusive.”

“Oh.” Aerith frowned, “So what does that mean?”

“Well, that means that I don’t have enough research to determine whether you are pregnant or not.” Vincent frowned, “I talked to an associate and I should be able to get your fathers research. I know you hate your father, but it’s the only way I can figure out what’s going on with you…”

“Thank you.” Aerith sighed, “But I guess his research did some kind of good. I’m okay with you going through it.”

“It’s okay.” Vincent said softly, “You are one of my favourites. But you know I’m going to have to relay this to the others.”

“I know.” Aerith sighed, “So Sephiroth. Are you ready to head down south again?”

“Yeah.” Sephiroth agreed, “We’ll see you around.”

“Take care of yourselves.” Vincent said firmly, “And if you get into any trouble do not hesitate to contact me.”

“We’ll keep that in mind.” Sephiroth smiled, “Bye then.”


	10. Mutual Attraction

* * *

Cloud wasn’t sure what to do. He waited until he was sure that Aerith was back and the only way of knowing that was if Sephiroth was back in the office. The blond had to see her and find out what the hell was going on because he was sure there was something that his friend was hiding from him.  
“Why didn’t you just text me like a normal human being?” Aerith asked, entering the morgue, “Do you know how worrying it is to get an unsigned letter? Especially one that states an emergency?”

“That’s all you’re concerned about?” Cloud frowned, walking back and forth. His anxiety was off the charts and it didn’t help that his friend didn’t seem to see the seriousness of the situation, “Jesus fucking Christ. Aerith what the hell did you see Vincent for?”

“It was a pregnancy scare.” Aerith smiled, unknowingly rubbing her stomach, “I can’t entirely say if it’s a scare because the results are still inconclusive.”

“How can you be so nonchalant over something like that?” Cloud groaned, her answer definitely did not help to ease his anxiousness. Maybe Zack was waiting for her to reveal that she was pregnant before he killed them, “Aerith. We are so fucked.”

“What do you mean we’re fucked?” Aerith queried, “Did Sephiroth already ask you if you were the Nibelheim Slayer?”

“Sephiroth? Sephiroth thinks I’m the Nibelheim Slayer?” Cloud yelled. Things were just getting worse. Not only was Zack threatening to kill them because of their screw ups, Sephiroth now had an inkling that he was the Nibelheim Slayer. This was basically the signing of his death certificate, “When were you thinking of telling me this?”

“I got him off you back.” Aerith answered in a straightforward tone, “Why are you panicking? What is going on?”

“I’ll tell you.” Cloud started, it was better to just tell her what was going on, “So I got a visit from the ghost and he tells me that he’s going to kill us.”

“Why would he kill us?” Aerith frowned, “He saved my life. It would be pointless for him to kill me after saving me.”

“Did you even get a look at the guy? What does he look like?” Cloud questioned firmly, “And he wants to kill us because we’re sloppy apparently.”

“Well… He was wearing a mask. But he has dark hair, and his eyes are kind of like yours. But bluer?” Aerith voiced, “Have you seen his face?”

“Zack Fair is the ghost.” Cloud hissed out, “He knows everything and what do you think is going to happen when Sephiroth decides to tell him that he thinks I’m the Nibelheim Slayer?”

“How do you expect me to believe that? Zack Fair is the ghost?” Aerith shot back, “Sephiroth is not going to say that he thinks that you’re the Nibelheim Slayer without any concrete evidence.”

“Because he knows too much. No one is even aware of the existence of the ghost other than our organisation. Zack is the ghost.” Cloud groaned loudly, “And easy for you to say. Sephiroth has a soft spot for you. And now that you could possibly be having his baby makes it less likely that he’s going to turn you in. But for me on the other hand, he is not connected to me in any way and once he actually does have concrete evidence that I am the Nibelheim Slayer, he will tell Zack and I’ll get killed.”

“So what do we do? Do we kill him first?” Aerith voiced, she didn’t want to kill Zack he seemed like a nice guy most of the time, “Or do you have any better ideas?”

“I’m going to make him fall in love with me.” Cloud stated, earning an incredulous look from Aerith, “That way we can defend each other. If we have relationships with two partnering detectives we basically have a way out of this mess.”

“How do you know that he’s not playing you? For all you know, he’s been flirting with you in order to get you to lower your guard around him.” Aerith shot back, “We need to be more careful around him.”

“I know.” Cloud agreed, “But don’t forget that I know how to put up a fight. If Zack does try to kill me, I’m not going down without a fight.”

\----

“So how was your time off?” Zack asked Sephiroth, “Did you do anything fun?”

“Zack. You’re my friend and confidant so what I say in this room should not be mentioned around anyone else.” Sephiroth stated firmly, “I was with Aerith. She might be pregnant.”

“Wait. You and Aerith are together?” Zack frowned, acting surprised. He was very well aware of the relationship. But now that there was a chance that Aerith was pregnant that made things a little more difficult. She was now Sephiroth’s weak spot, “When did this happen? Was she the one that bit you that time?”

“Yes. She was the one that bit me.” Sephiroth sighed, “We’re not together.”

“But you’re having sex and you care enough to go with her to find out if she’s pregnant or not?” Zack queried, “It sounds like you’re in denial.”

“I do care about her. But we are not together.” Sephiroth repeated, “What about you? Did you manage to get through to Cloud while I was away?”

“Interesting you should say that.” Zack laughed, “I ruined everything like I usually do.”

“Do you want me to talk to him?” Sephiroth asked, “I mean to excuse your terrible behaviour and try to get him to warm up to you?”

“You’re only going to do that because you want me to talk to Aerith, right?” Zack asked curiously, “Or are you genuinely so love struck, you want other people to be in love?”

“No.” Sephiroth frowned, “But yes, I do want you to talk to Aerith. Maybe ease her into the idea of a relationship.”

“Great. So you talk to Cloud for me and I’ll talk to Aerith.” Zack grinned, “It should go without a hitch and soon enough we’ll both be in relationships.”

“Sure. That’s only if Cloud warms up to you.” Sephiroth snorted, “The guy hangs around with more dead people than people that are actually alive. I’m actually kind of surprised that you’re attracted to him. Your personalities are polar opposites.”

“Have you never heard the phrase opposites attract?” Zack teased, “But in all honesty, I don’t think we’re that different. I’m sure there are plenty of things that we have similar.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Sephiroth laughed, “I’ll head down to the morgue now.”

“Sure, I’ll go head over to Aerith’s place to see her.” Zack smiled, “See you later.”

\----

Zack was almost definite that Aerith was now aware that he was the ghost. He wasn’t entirely sure how their first meeting with her knowing that was going to go. The raven-haired man had spent so much time working behind the scenes that he was sure he had never gained anyone’s attention. Which was true to an extent. Well, it was until he revealed himself to Cloud. The sight of Aerith in her garden reminded him of past memories and the bittersweet feeling was really getting to him.  
“So when were you planning on telling me that you were the ghost?” Aerith queried, trimming some plants. The brunette finished her plants before facing him. She was as beautiful as always and he couldn’t help but think that Sephiroth was lucky to have the girl.

“I never planned on telling you.” Zack admitted, watching as she frowned slightly at the comment, “It would have been better for everyone if you and Cloud weren’t aware of me. But after the recent shenanigans, Cid wanted me to have a talk with you guys. It was more of a scare tactic than an actual threat. You know I wouldn’t kill you.”

“You disappeared for quite some time. How do you expect me to ever trust you again?” Aerith asked, “You gave Cloud quite the scare. Now he’s come up with the crazy plan to seduce you and trap you.”

“I guess it really worked in my favour?” Zack grinned, earning a light shove from Aerith, “I kept every letter. All eighty-eight.”

“And you never thought of responding? I didn’t even know if you were alive.” Aerith sighed, “It’s awful when your first love just disappears.”

“I’m a ghost. It’s in my nature to disappear.” Zack said softly, “I know this won’t do anything to help. But you were my first love too. I did answer every letter, I just never sent them.”

“Will you ever give me the letters? For some closure at least?” Aerith asked, “And I need to know that you’re serious about Cloud. I don’t want him hurt at the end of this.”

“I am serious about Cloud.” Zack promised, “And I will give you the letters someday. Maybe when you’re honest about your feelings for Sephiroth? Why aren’t you dating him?”

“Because it’s dangerous and I don’t want to hurt him.” Aerith admitted, “And now that there’s a chance that I could be pregnant, everything is kind of a mess.”

“Don’t you think you’re hurting him more by not being with him. He’s not even sure what to label your relationship.” Zack sighed, “In all of the years I’ve worked for this department, I have never seen Sephiroth in any kind of relationship with anyone. He’s in a similar position as you.”

“I’ll need to talk to him.” Aerith agreed, “So do you want to come in for some tea? Catch up on everything?”

“Yeah, it’d be nice to catch up without the pretence.” Zack smiled, “Now that you know my face, I don’t see any reason to hide.”

“Good. Because I need to know what drew you to Cloud.” Aerith laughed, “I’m really protective of him and I will not hesitate to kill you if you ever double-cross him.”

“I could say the same for Sephiroth. But he would probably kill me before I killed you.” Zack laughed.

The rest of the evening was spent talking about random things. It definitely felt like he was catching up with an old friend. And now that Zack was aware that there was a mutual attraction between him and Cloud, he couldn’t help but feel happy. He was going to make sure that the sloppiness would stop, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t have fun himself.

\----


End file.
